Til death
by snowwhitee
Summary: DarylXOC. This story takes place mainly before the outbreak. Daryl and his longtime girlfriend are working to fix their plummeting relationship. Between an accident and Merle staying with them, can the relationship be saved?
1. Chapter 1

Kendall stood across the room, taking clothes out laundry basket, folding them then throwing them in their allotted drawer. Daryl sat on the edge of the bed, watching her. She hadn't said much to him all day, even when they woke up she had simply gotten out of bed and went to the bathroom to do her hair and make up, no 'good morning' or any recognition at all, for that matter, which only infuriated Daryl more. Kendall picked up the last of Daryl's thermal shirts and folded it against herself and put it in the top drawer of the dresser, then shut it and put the wicker basket back in their closet.

"What?" Kendall asked when she turned and saw Daryl looking at her.

"Nothin'," Daryl replied in a shrug as he got up to his feet, grabbed his pack of smokes off of the top of the TV on the dresser and walked out of the room. Things had been rocky the last few months, to say the least. Since the accident, things just hadn't been the same. Both of them blamed one another and couldn't seem to stop bickering, ever. The fact that Merle still hadn't gotten a job, and was still crashing on their couch didn't help things much, either. Merle only seemed to get Kendall all the more worked up, and seeing Merle eye Kendall like he did got Daryl more angered, as well.

"Stupid bitch," Daryl muttered to himself as he lit his cigarette and leaned against the porch's railing. Daryl wanted things to be normal again. Kendall and him used to be happy together. Really happy. They both used to work through the day, but Kendall got out about an hour before him, and when he'd get home from work she'd always have dinner ready for him then, often times, they'd lock themselves away in their bedroom and make love all night. She had been intoxicating to Daryl. He couldn't seem to get enough of her. Daryl blew out one last cloud of smoke before throwing it into old, empty coffee can that was placed by the steps for cigarette butts. Daryl turned and walked back into the house.

"Breakfast is on the table," Kendall said flatly. The tone in her voice made his blood boil. Why, he wasn't sure. But it did. He grunted, and walked to the table and sat beside Merle, who was shoveling his pancakes into his mouth like a five year old. Daryl looked down at his pancake and sighed.

"Fuckin' pancakes again?" Daryl groaned and slid his plate across the table a bit from himself.

"Yes, Daryl, fuckin' pancakes again," Kendall said as she placed a hand on her hip. "I have to go to work in a half hour, and still had some mix from yesterday."

"Well fuck this, I'm gonna have cereal," Daryl said and got up from his chair as loudly as he could, making the legs of the chair screech against the wooden floor.

"Daryl, that pancake is perfectly fine. I'll make you something new tomorrow," Kendall said.

"Listen woman, I don't want a fuckin' pancake," Daryl protested and reached over her head to open the cupboard where the Cheerios were stored.

"Well hon, it's all we have. Merle finished your cereal last night while he was watching the Wonder Years," Kendall said as Daryl looked into the empty cupboard. Daryl looked over his shoulder at Merle, who looked up from his syrup covered plate and gave his little brother a sheepish smile.

"Son of a bitch!" Daryl yelled and slammed the cupboard's door, making Kendall who stood next to it, flinch. "Didn't you just go grocery shoppin' yesterday?" Daryl asked.

"Yeah, I did. Merle finished the cheerios after I went shopping," Kendall replied. Daryl groaned.

"This is exactly why the accident fuckin' happened. You can't take care of nothing'," Daryl said coldly as he turned around and headed back up the stairs to their bedroom.

"Daryl Dixon!" Kendall screamed after him, as she bounded the stairs a few feet behind him. "Don't you bring that up!"

"I'll bring it up all I want!" Daryl said and turned to face her. There were tears welling in her eyes, and he instantly felt guilty.

"Daryl, I told you it wasn't my fault," Kendall said quietly, defeated.

"Ken, fallin' down the stairs is the biggest cliché in tha fuckin' world," Daryl said flatly and continued up the stairs again.

"Listen, I was just as excited as you were," Kendall said as she followed him through the bedroom door. Daryl plopped down onto the bed and ran both of his hands over his face.

"That's easy to say now, isn't it?" Daryl asked, his tone sharp and making Kendall hurt all the more.

"I can't do this anymore," Kendall said softly as she looked down at her socked feet. "After work tonight, I'm gonna get my stuff and go back to my Mom's,"

"Fuckin' go fer it, Ken. I'll throw a god damn bon voyage party fer yah," Daryl heard himself say. Kendall left the room and soon after he heard her car start and leave the driveway. He laid back down on the bed and closed his eyes. She wasn't going to leave, she never did before, she wouldn't now, he assured himself.

An hour later Daryl went to work at the auto shop, and tried to throw himself into his work more than usual to forget about this morning. He couldn't believe he had lost it over pancakes, he really was turning into his father. To his dismay, when he came home Kendall was in their room, packing her things into a big duffle bag.

"What're you doin'?" Daryl asked from the doorframe. Kendall stopped what she was doing to look over her shoulder and shoot him a death glare.

"I told you, I'm leaving, Daryl," She replied as she zipped up the white bag and slung it over her shoulder. Everything was silent for a moment between them, the only thing they could hear was Merle downstairs yelling profanities at the TV.

"T' fuck you are!" Daryl exclaimed as she walked past him and headed down the stairs.

"Why the hell should I stay?" She asked once she got to the front door. Daryl looked into her blue-green eyes and sighed; he used to tell her, when they first got together, her eyes looked like the ocean.

"I'd miss yah," Daryl finally said after a long silence. Kendall faked a little laugh and turned towards the door.

"Oh my god!" Kendall exclaimed. "Are you okay?" She asked and rushed out into the yard, Daryl looked out and saw a man covered in blood, who had part of his jaw missing, exposing teeth and gore, stumbling through their yard. Daryl ran after Kendall to try and help the man.


	2. Chapter 2

The closer Kendall and Daryl got to the man the worse he looked. His jaw wasn't merely bloodied, the whole thing was nearly torn off, and one of his eyes were hanging down onto his cheek. Just looking at him made Kendall's stomach turn, and she wasn't easily disturbed. The man slowly shuffled through the over grown grass of their yard, Daryl had refused to go cut it for over two weeks now, and it showed.

"Holy shit, man c'mon, come inside and we'll call and ambulance for yah," Daryl said to the man, who made no response, but he seemed to perk up at the sound of Daryl's voice. All of a sudden, the man started to head towards Kendall, his mutilated jaw snapping together hungrily at her. Kendall stumbled back a couple of steps making it so that the man's teeth just missed sinking into her exposed shoulder.

"Wha' the fuck?" Daryl roared and punched the man square in the nose, making him fall down to his knees instantly. "Go inside," Daryl said to Kendall, who weakly nodded and then jogged into the house, with Daryl right behind her. Daryl slammed the door shut behind himself and then walked into the kitchen, where Kendall was perched on the countertop, calling 911. Daryl stood beside where she sat and looked out the window that was directly above the sink. The man was still out there, staring at the house longingly. Kendall hung up the phone and put it down.

"What just happened?" Kendall asked. Daryl looked over at her and shrugged.

"I dunno," He admitted. "But something just wasn't right there," Daryl stole one more glance out of the window, nothing had changed; the man was still standing in the lawn. Daryl then looked back to Kendall. She was trembling, and he sure as hell didn't blame her. That thing had gotten damn close to biting her, right on the shoulder. "It's okay, Ken. I locked the door, and you called the cops, he'll be gone soon."

"He almost fucking bit me," Kendall said. Her eyes were cast down at the wood floor.

"I wouldn'ta let him bite yah," Daryl said, inching closer to Kendall "I'm the only one who can bite yah,"

"Daryl, did you forget that I was packing up to leave?" Kendall asked coldly. Daryl's heart dropped to his stomach. As a matter of fact, he had forgotten that little detail. With what had happened in the front yard, that had completely slipped his mind.

"Yeah, I did," Daryl replied softly. He stole a glance over at Kendall, who was looking down at her feet. She was wearing denim cut offs and a white tank top to try and escape from some of the south's brutal heat. Daryl studied her for a second, hoping to think of something to say. Sorry didn't seem to cut it, sorry didn't seem like an option at all for all the fighting they'd had about Merle, money, and the accident among a million other things. Despite the fact they hadn't gotten along in so long, he still loved her. Kendall was the only girl he'd ever loved, and the only girl he wanted to love, as corny and clichéd as it was, it was one of those thoughts he had that he'd never admit to anyone.

"Yeah," Kendall said quietly, not lifting her eyes up from the floor. Like Daryl, she didn't want to leave when she thought about it. After the rage from a fight wore off, she remembered all of the good times, like the time they met.

It had been almost five years ago, it was Kendall's 21st birthday, and to celebrate her friends had taken her out to a local bar on the edge of town, so that they were less likely to get pulled over since they didn't have a designated driver planned out. Daryl had been sitting at the bar when Kendall and her friends walked through the door. He noticed Kendall first, she had one of the nicest asses her had ever seen. It was perfectly rounded, something to grab onto but not "big" or "fat". Kendall and her friends took a table in the corner of the bar, and had ordered a round of shots. When the round was placed before them, on the unpolished, dirty looking table, Kendall's four friends all started to shriek 'Happy birthday' to her, most of the bar joining in with them. Daryl didn't sing, but knowing it was her birthday opened a door of opportunity…

Daryl had remained at the bar, shooting the shit with random guys who sat near him and drinking, but he always stole a glance at the pretty brunette who sat in the corner of the bar. It frustrated him that their eyes hadn't met, not even once. The girl hadn't even noticed him. Well, he figured, he'd make himself noticed. Daryl got the bartenders attention and ordered another round for the girls, and told the bartender to wish the girl in the red plaid shirt a happy birthday from him.

"A gentleman over at the bar sent these over for you, and wished you a happy birthday," The bartender said as he placed each shot glass in front of one of the girls.

"Who?" Kendall asked.

"The man over there, sitting on the very end of the bar. His name is Daryl," The bartender said as he turned on his heel and went back behind the bar to make more drinks. Kendall looked at the man; he was wearing a gray thermal shirt, but even beneath the thick fabric, she could tell he had amazing arm muscles. His hair was cut short, he had just a little bit of facial hair, and drank his whiskey and coke slowly.

"Well shit, this may not be a bad birthday after all," Kendall whispered in her friend, Natalie's ear, who had also been checking Daryl out.

"Go thank him!" Natalie whispered back and nudged Kendall's arm with her elbow. Kendall got up and walked across the dirty bar, some country song blasting behind her.

"Hey, mind if I sit?" Kendall asked as she pointed to the stool beside him. Daryl swallowed the mouthful of whiskey and coke that had been in his mouth and nodded. "Thanks for the rounds. I really appreciate that," She smiled.

"Well, it's yer birthday, no better present than some alcohol," Daryl replied in a laugh.

"True. I'm Kendall, by the way," She said and stuck her hand out, which he shook heartily.

"Daryl Dixon,"

"Well, it's nice to meet you, Daryl Dixon. Why don't you stop sulking at this bar and come sit with me and my friends?"

"I was not sulkin'" Daryl said.

"Sure you weren't," Kendall said as she got up off the barstool and waited a second for Daryl to do the same. The two sat next to one another all night, almost ignoring everyone else. Just cracking jokes, flirting, and talking. It was at the end of the night though, when Daryl knew he really did like her. He had driven her home, as one of her friends had begun to vomit, and Kendall, not wanting to be stuck in such a confined space with that, asked him to.

Kendall sat in the passengers seat for awhile, continuing to talk with Daryl, and loving not having to yell to hear each other. After awhile, both Daryl and Kendall went silent, and Daryl utilized that moment. He placed his hand on her knee and leaned and kissed her on the lips. Her lips felt just as they looked, soft as silk. She tasted like cigarettes and whiskey, and he loved it. The way a Dixon's woman should taste. Daryl's hand started to slide up her knee, and Kendall twitched out of his grip.

"Sorry, I don't fuck on the first date," Kendall said slyly as she opened his trucks door and jumped out. "But, I'll call you soon, okay?" As Daryl drove home he was enraged. He had been rejected. It wasn't until he got home, to his bedroom that he realized, yes, he had been rejected this time… She was a challenge, and Dixon's loved challenges.

"He's still out there," Kendall said quietly as she looked behind her, out the window, where the man still stood.

"I know," Daryl replied. He still stood in front of the sink, beside Kendall who remained perched on the countertop.

"Daryl, I don't want to leave," Kendall said quietly, after a long silence between the two of them.

"Huh?"

"You. I don't want to leave you. Or this house."

"Well, I already told yah I didn't want yah to leave," Daryl replied, looking up at her and making, for what felt like the first time in ages, eye contact.

"Can we just stop fighting? Please?" Kendall asked, her eyes shimmering a little bit with tears that he knew she'd never let fall. Kendall was very high strung, and not very emotional. In the four and a half years they had been together, he had only seen her cry a handful of times, all of which were valid reasons to cry. Before Daryl could answer, sirens roared down the street and parked on the edge of their yard. Two officers got out of the cruiser and strolled across the overgrown lawn to get closer to the deranged man. Daryl, seeing this, went out on his porch.

"Watch out!" Daryl shouted to the police. "Fucker tries to bite!"

"Sir," The older, red haired cop called out to the man who had now turned facing the two officers. Both cops were taken aback by his appearance, he looked so gory from head to toe, how he was standing up and walking was beyond them. "Hang tight, okay? The ambulance is on it's way. We'll take you over to our car, and get you something, okay?" He asked. There was no response, but the mutilated man started to shuffled across the tall, bright green grass, towards them. The younger cop, new to the department, reached out his hand as a way to offer aid to the man. Well, the man wasted no time in taking this offer. His grisly looking, brown-grey teeth clamped down on the cop's fingers, severing them from the knuckles.

"Hey! Hey! Get off him!" One cop shouted over his comrade's frantic screaming. Kendall, who had been watching from inside stepped onto the porch and wrapped an arm around Daryl, to try and calm her own fear and nerves for what was about to happen.

"I said get off of him!" The older cop yelled again as the young cop fell to the ground, holding his injured hand tight. Blood seeped in between his fingers and tears rolled down his face. The man didn't heed the cops warning, and started to bend over to take another bite of the young cop, when the older cop took his pistol from it's holster and shot the lunatic, right between the eyes. The older cop gave the young cop a hand to his feet, and sat him the car to wait 'til the ambulance arrived to take care of his now fingerless hand.

"Mr., Ma'am," The cop said, giving each Daryl and Kendall a polite nod. "I'm so sorry that this happened. The ambulance will be by soon to clean up this mess. But, I need to ask a couple of questions before I go. Did you know this man at all? Tell me everything that happened before I got here," He said. Kendall obliged, giving him the whole story of everything that had happened, while Daryl stood rigidly beside her. He didn't like cops. Not one bit. Daryl was thankful that at least Merle wasn't awake though, that really would have been a mess.

"Thank you for your time," The cop said as the ambulance rolled down the road and parked behind the cop car. "They'll just be cleaning up, so you two can go inside if you'd like," He added with a sad smile. Kendall thanked him for his time, and went back inside, Daryl following.

"I can't believe that just fuckin' happened," Kendall said as she walked through the kitchen and into the living room.

"He bit that fuckers fingers clean off," Daryl mused as he plopped down on the off-white couch beside Kendall.

"Holy shit," Kendall whispered under her breath as she recounted all of the events in her head once more.

"So, yer not gonna leave me?" Daryl asked after a long silence between them. Kendall turned her head and looked him in the eyes.

"We have to stop fighting so much," She said quietly.

"I'll try," Daryl said quietly and rested his head on Kendall's shoulder, breathing her in and thanking God almighty she was still there.


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's note: I totally forgot this story even existed, honestly. When I looked back and reread it, I realized I actually do like this story. I have no idea what I want to do with it, but I decided to play around with it again. To let anyone easily offended know, there is a graphic sexual scene in this chapter, so if it's not your thing maybe skip this chapter._ Please give me some feedback!_ Favorite me or subscribe, anything. :)**

That night Daryl laid in bed, staring at the ceiling. Daryl hardly ever had a problem falling asleep. He was usually snoring before his head hit the pillow. Tonight though, he found himself counting the tiles in the ceiling above, or looking out the window on the wall beside him, gazing out at the harvest moon that hung overhead. He'd never say it aloud, but he loved looking at the moon and the stars. They were beautiful, and they made him feel a little bit more whole. When Daryl looked up at the moon, whether it was just a little toenail shaped sliver in the sky, or full and round, he didn't feel so alone. Daryl could almost feel all the hundreds of other people looking up at the same sight by him.

Daryl looked away from the ceiling and to his side, where Kendall was lying on her back with her face turned towards him. Her eyes were shut, her mouth slightly agape and her breathing was heavy. As usual, she had kicked off the red comforter so that it only covered one leg and part of her torso. A corner of her black tank top had ridden up and exposed her hipbone. Daryl wondered, as he looked at the white flesh, what things would have been like had the accident not happen. She would have been eight months along now, they would have known what sex the baby would have been. They would have gone shopping for things like cradles, strollers, clothes and toys, which Daryl knew he would have complained about the entire time, but part of him still wished it had happened. He studied Kendall for awhile, looking at her features; she was that kind of pretty that never went out of style, the kind of good looking that always was, and always would be. It was one of the things that had hooked him to her; she had the most feminine appearance possible; delicate but sultry features; long, wavy reddish brown hair and an hour glass figure. At the same time, Kendall had always been able to keep up with Daryl and his friends between joking and drinking. Kendall easily morphed into 'one of the guys'. He had loved that about her, she was the only girl in the history of his entire life (Maw included) he felt he could actually talk to. Kendall didn't twist his words in all kinds of weird ways like most girls seemed to, no; Kendall always understood Daryl. In between his memories of going to the bar with her, taking her on shot for shot, came a cold streak as he remembered her sobbing voice when he came home from work that night.

"Daryl, I'm so sorry," Kendall had said. Her eyes were red and puffy from crying, and new streams of tears came as he walked into the living room, where she was sitting on the couch with her knees to her chest.

"What are you talking about?" Daryl asked as he reached up and wiped some black oil off of his cheekbone with the sleeve of his monkey suit and plopped down in the blue recliner across from her. He had just gotten home from work at the auto repair shop, and he was used to cracking open a beer and watching TV with Kendall and her crying had scared him, already setting him up for a bad reaction. Kendall hadn't been able to answer him right off, she had started to sob harder when she tried to speak, and that had sent a shiver through Daryl, both of pity and anger. Why did she have to prolong whatever the tragedy was? Fear had started to eat at him, like piranhas chowing down on a good slab of meat.

"I-I lost the baby," She finally managed to get out. Daryl looked away from her and out into the dining room. Everything was quiet, he couldn't hear Merle roaring with laughter at something on the TV in his basement room, and the neighbors weren't blasting their music, all there was the cheerful chirping of birds outside.

"How?" Daryl asked, who still didn't dare to chance a look at Kendall. He remembered looking at the ceiling and the floor as if they were a Van Gogh painting, just to avoid looking at her.

"I-I was at work and when I was going up the stairs to get back to my office, a client ran into me hard and took me out…" She choked out. Daryl cringed when he remembered what he had done next. He had risen to his feet, though he hardly remembered doing so. He had been so angry, the term 'seeing red' was the perfect definition of how he had felt. Kendall had only been three months into the pregnancy when the accident happened; they had only known they were going to be parents for a little over a month, but in that time Daryl had let himself get more and more excited over the idea of being a Dad. At first, he had been terrified, but the more he thought about it the more he liked the idea. Daryl wasn't getting any younger, he had found the girl he loved, nothing made more sense than to have a baby, really. Daryl had yelled at Kendall, telling her if she didn't want it she should have just kept her legs closed. He had called her irresponsible, and had then knocked her favorite vase over, the one her great Grandmother had brought with her from England. It had shattered to the floor in a hundred pieces, making blue porcelain blades all over the floor.

As if Kendall knew what he was thinking she twitched in her sleep before waking. She blinked a few times to clear her vision, looking confused as if she didn't know where she was before looking over at him and giving him a tired smile.

"What're you still doing awake?" She asked in a yawn as she threw the comforter back over herself and hitched across the bed to rest her head on Daryl's chest.

"Couldn't fall asleep," He replied as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders and rested his bristly chin on top of her head.

"Any particular reason?" She asked as she ran her hand up and down his bare side.

"Nah, not tha' I can think of," Daryl replied, giving a small shrug. "Ken?"

"What?" She asked in yet another yawn.

"I wanted to let you know, I wouldn'ta let that fuckin' freak bite you earlier," He said in such a low whisper Kendall hardly even heard it. She had heard him though, and his words made her fully wake up. She propped herself up on her shoulder and looked down at him. The moon shown so brightly that she could see all of his features perfectly, every line, every whisker. Most people wouldn't have made much out of what Daryl had said; it seemed like a common thing for a man to say to a woman in the circumstances of what had happened that afternoon. Kendall knew Daryl though, and knew that in Daryl-language, he was saying 'sorry'.

"You been drinking?" She asked. Her eyes weren't narrowed and her expression wasn't accusative, she was sincerely curious.

"Not a drop, babe," Daryl said and placed his hand over his heart. "Scouts honor," He added in a wink. Kendall broke out into a warm smile, and as she tucked a long, wavy lock of hair behind her ear she leaned down and placed a kiss on his lips. It wasn't the stiff, cold kisses they had shared recently, the kind they had only given one another because they felt like they had to. Kendall was kissing him like she meant it, like she wanted to.

"I love you," Kendall said as she rested her forehead to his.

"I know you do," Daryl said in a laugh. "You sure as hell know I love yah back. Why else would I put up with yer crazy shit all the time?"

"Good point," Kendall agreed in a laugh mixed within a yawn. "How do you think that guys doing right now?" She then asked. Daryl sighed.

"Well, he lost four ah his fingers. But, besides that I'm sure he's okay, Ken. The ambulance got here pretty damn quick," Daryl replied. "I don't wanna think about that though,"

"What do you want to think about?" She asked. Daryl didn't answer, but only gave her an evil grin before rolling over so that he was on top of her and reaching up and pinning her hands above her head.

"You an' me," He finally said as he lowered his head and crashed his lips to hers. He kissed her hard, and rolled his tongue around against hers and grinded his hips against her, making her gasp, to his delight. "Take yer fuckin' clothes off, now," Daryl said after about ten minutes of making out.

"What about Merle? What if he hears us?"

"Don't care. Take 'em off," Daryl said as he reached down and roughly yanked her black tank top over her head, leaving her upper half completely exposed. "You best work on getting those pants off," Daryl whispered as he bent over and cupped her breasts, one in each hand. He slowly started to massage and them, occasionally letting a thumb graze over her pink nipple before lowering his mouth to them. He sucked at the soft, satiny flesh for a few seconds before, without warning, gently bit down which made Kendall squeal. Daryl's warmth and touch had been missed, Kendall realized as he moved from her chest and started kissing and dragging his stubbly chin down her white torso. Kendall had been so caught up in her anger and resentment to him that she had forgotten how good Daryl was, in multiple senses of the word.

"Yah didn't take 'em off," Daryl hissed as he got to his mouth to the hem of where he pajama pants started. He ran his hands up her legs, sending shivers through her when he touched her thighs, and hooked his fingers around her panties and pants and pulled them both down in one fell swoop. "Yer gonna pay for that later," He added in a wink before leaning down and planting a kiss on her thigh, followed by another higher up which he spent some time on, sucking hard and biting at the tender flesh, which was a painful pleasure he knew Kendall loved. He could hear her gritting her teeth, and quietly hissing as the stinging.

"You can't make me," Kendall replied playfully as she reached down between her legs and ran her fingers through Daryl's smooth brown hair. Daryl lifted his head just enough to make eye contact with her and raised a brow.

"Just you wait, girlie," Was all Daryl said before he leaned his head down and flicked her clitoris with his tongue, making her jerk a little in delight. Daryl repeated the motion a few times, every time savoring her reactions and little noises and adding longer licks and gentle sucking to the mix. Once the time came to his liking he slid his tongue down and entered her as much as he could. Daryl let his tongue move around, exploring every inch of her, and enjoying her taste. Daryl let his thumb stay on her clit, moving in slow motions but picking up speed along with Kendall's breathing. It was just before Daryl knew Kendall was about to come that he pulled back.

"Told yah I was gonna make yah pay," Daryl said in a wink as he got up on his knees.

"What? You've got to be fuckin' kidding me," Kendall exclaimed.

"Nope. I'm thirty now, gonna get some water," Daryl replied and turned away from her and was about to get off the bed when he felt Kendall's arms wrap around his waist and pull him back to her. He could feel her breasts on the back of his ribcage, and smiled. She had reacted just as he knew she would, which he was thankful of. Daryl knew if she hadn't caved, he surely would have. His erection was far too much to handle.

"No, you're not," Kendall whispered. Her lips were right next to his ear, and he could feel the heat from her breath wash over it and his cheek. Kendall moved her hands to his shoulders and turned him to her and pressed her lips to his. Daryl pulled away from the kiss and pushed her down on the bed before getting on top of her and continuing to the part he had been waiting for the most.

After they were done, Daryl slept the best he had in months. When he woke up in the morning, Kendall was still fast asleep beside him. Her long dark hair was covering her face and her hands were neatly folded beside her. Daryl looked down at her and smiled before tucking her hair behind her ear and giving her a gentle kiss on the forehead. Daryl got out of the bed, stretched his arms up over his head and slid on a black T-shirt and gray boxers and headed down stairs where Merle was already up and sitting on the couch with a beer in hand, even though it was only 9am.

"Why the fuck are you still here? Don't you work or something?" Merle asked as Daryl walked down the stairs, and didn't even once take his eyes off of the TV where Walker Texas Ranger was playing.

"It's Sunday. Ken and my day off," Daryl said as he plopped down on the couch beside his brother.

"Well, that makes sense why you two were goin' at it like fuckin' apes last night," Merle said, still not moving his gaze from the television. Daryl normally would have been embarrassed, but since it was Merle he didn't care at all. He knew if Kendall heard Merle say that she'd be mortified, though.

"Yeah,"

"Sounded good, that's fer sure," Merle said. "Would be lyin' if I said I didn't touch myself to it a couple times," Daryl looked over at his brother and furrowed his brows.

"Because of her, yah idjit,"

"Oh,"

"By the way, I was watchin' the news this morning. All kinds of fucked up people are walkin' around bitin' people, so that freak you was talking about wasn't so special anyway. All kindsa people 'r in the hospital,"


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's note: **Well, to all the people who wanted me to continue this story, here's a new chapter...a year later. I'm sorry, I'm horrible at doing things sometimes. Anyway, I hope you guys still like this story and this chapter is a good continuation. I have a couple ideas for what Daryl's "surprise" is going to be, but I'm not 100% yet, so if you have any suggestions give them to me! Also, as always,** please review**!

It seemed like Kendall and Daryl's rut was finally over with. Both were so relieved to have things back to normal again that they hardly left one another's sides. It was like before; Kendall was making Daryl delicious and fresh dinners for him when he got home from the auto shop. They'd try to watch a movie before bed, but would end up making out like two high schoolers and eventually would turn in early and would sometimes make love up to three times a night.

Daryl was happy. He had his Ken back. That light he had fallen in love with when he saw her that first night in the bar on her birthday was back. Even though Daryl was happy, he couldn't help but worry that this couldn't last. How long would it be before one of them would start bringing up the baby they'd lost again. Daryl knew that if she were to mention it, he'd say something he'd regret. He always did. Even though Kendall had miscarried five months ago, he still had that picture perfect image in his head.

Daryl had been able to envision it all. He saw her hugely rounded with his baby and happy as hell about it. That baby was his; it was a Dixon and it was Daryl's chance to right the wrongs his parents had made in raising him. He wanted children of his own that didn't have to know abuse, torment or suffering. He wanted to raise kids that had the same warmth, tenderness and love to give that Kendall had. Maybe that was why he loved her so much, she possessed all of the qualities he hoped to obtain but was too scared to pursue.

It was Daryl's day off from work and he was the only one in the house. Kendall had had to work, and Merle had detached himself from the TV to go out and shoot some pool with some of his old buddies.

Daryl sat alone in the blue recliner and strummed his fingers on his leg, as he thought deeply to come up with a solution. He sat alone in that recliner for a long time, when finally the solution hit him full on like a train. It was so obvious. How dumb was he to take so long to figure out something so simple? Daryl chuckled to himself and rose to his feet. Only stopping to grab his wallet, Daryl headed out the door and to his truck before speeding away. He glanced at the clock in the truck; it was a little before four. Kendall would be home in a little more than an hour. He had to hurry.

"You sure you don't need me?" Kendall asked her manager. Her manager was a stocky redheaded woman named Marie. She and Kendall had always gotten along great, and because of that Marie always cut Kendall a break, like letting her head home early.

"Yeah. You and Daryl are doing good again. I can tell by the look in your eyes you're dying to go home and tap that," Marie said and laughed at herself. "Go home and have fun. I'll see you tomorrow,"

Kendall laughed and shook her head. "Marie, you're ridiculous."

"Hell, I know that," Marie said as began to laugh herself. She shoved her thick black glasses up on her nose about and then motioned for Kendall to leave before continuing to scan copies of a document.

"Bye," Kendall said as she grabbed her black pocket book and headed out.

When Kendall came home, the house was empty. Daryl's truck was gone, which struck her as odd but she didn't think too much of it.

Kendall plopped down on the couch and sighed. Kendall sat for awhile thinking about her day when the imagine of the man with the mutilated jaw crossed her mind. She shivered. Things had been going so well recently that she hadn't even thought of him. What had been wrong with him? Why had he tried to bite her? He hadn't even paid any attention to the cops whatsoever.

Daryl had shrugged it off and simply said the guy must have been on drugs. Merle had laughed, agreed with his brother and said "yeah, I've been on some pretty crazy drugs that make me wanna bite some cops hands off too,"

How could they just laugh off something like that? They had seen an innocent man have his fingers bitten clean off. That was way past a joking matter in Kendall's opinion, although she had laughed with Daryl and Merle just to end the conversation.

She pushed the cop and the injured man from her mind and instead started to think about Merle, which wasn't that much better. Merle had been staying with them for awhile now and she hated it. Merle was alright and funny in small doses, but to live with? It had been a nightmare.

Daryl fought with his brother from time to time, though it was rare because Daryl seemed to be a little scared of Merle, a lot of the things Merle did he did behind Daryl's back. There was a time right after Daryl and Kendall had announced to their friends and families that they were expecting that Merle had been alone with Kendall in the house. She was starting a spaghetti dinner for Daryl when Merle walked into the kitchen.

He leaned against the door frame and hooked his thumbs through the belt loops and watched Kendall for a few seconds. She was hovering over the stovetop, stirring some spaghetti into the boiling water. She was wearing shorts and a gray long sleeved shirt that had a cut open neck hole, exposing her ivory shoulders and protruding collar bones. The girl had one hell of a figure, Merle thought. How was it his baby brother got that, and not him? Sure, Merle wouldn't have 'made love' to her or any of that sissy shit, but he had been under the impression that every girl wanted a real man…

"Whatcha makin', sweetheart?" Merle called out, almost making Kendall jump.

"Spaghetti," Kendall replied as she grabbed the cookie sheet off of the counter. She placed two half loaves of frozen garlic bread on it and bent over to slide it into the oven. Her intention had been to break conversation with him. Instead, her got a good view of her ass and wanted to "chat" with her all the more.

"What're you doing with a pansy like my little brother?" Merle mused as he sauntered over to the table and sat down. Kendall looked over at him with a confused look on her face. She didn't respond. "You're a hot piece of ass. You could have anyone you want, anytime you want. I ain't seen much better than you, sweets," Merle paused for a second. Kendall still didn't say a word. "Now, it looks like you're trapped with him, huh? He got you knocked up. Ain't nobody gonna want you when there's another man's baby in the oven. I bet that drives a fox like you crazy. If you want, we can go down to the basement, I'll give you tha ride of your life, and we don't have to tell Daryl-"

"Shut up, Merle," Kendall said finally. Her cheeks were scarlet from embarrassment and anger. "You're disgusting. Please go back to the basement and watch some TV or something. I'll call you when Daryl and I are ready to eat." She spoke firmly but Merle could hear the little tremble in her voice. Was she scared of him? She may be. That gave him all the more pleasure and made his pants just a little bit tighter.

"Alright, Ken, alright. No need to get huffy. If you want a real man, you know where I'll be," Merle said in a laugh as he got up, gave her a wink, and left.

It was just another one of the hundred incidents Kendall had never told Daryl about. The fight wouldn't be worth it, neither would the drama, and so she kept it all to herself. She felt disgusting for it and wondered at night if she should tell Daryl. Would it change anything? Would it have gotten Merle out of their house quicker? She figured no.

Daryl pulled into the drive way. His heart was pounding. He had taken way longer than he had anticipated. Kendall's car was already in the driveway. What would he do if she said no? He felt so nervous he could vomit. But, it was now or never, sink or swim…


	5. Chapter 5

**Please, please review! 3**

Daryl took a step out of his truck slowly. Everything felt like it was moving in slow motion, even the squawks from the birds that flew overhead seemed longer and more drawn out. The gravel from the driveway crunched under Daryl's work boots what he felt was loudly and both feet planted on the ground, becoming deeply rooted so that Daryl felt he couldn't move. The truck's door was shut tightly and that little white bag was held tightly in his sweaty hand. Even though the front door was only a few steps away from where he was standing he couldn't seem to move. He could see the TV flickering through the screen door and, for once, couldn't hear Merle yelling drunkenly from somewhere within the house. Now was the perfect time and perfect times, especially in a Dixon's life, were rare. Still, he couldn't move. The humidity of the Georgia summer was making perspiration bead on his forehead and he could feel sweat stains forming through his black T-shirt.

Finally, Daryl managed to take a deep breath, push back his nasty, taunting thoughts and walk into the little white house. Kendall wasn't in the living room or kitchen, but the dishes were done and still wet in the dish drainer and the oven was on with something in it, making the house smell delicious. Daryl stood in the kitchen for another minute to try and re-motivate himself. His worst fears kept playing themselves over and over again in his mind and they crippled him.

"Kendall!" Daryl finally called out. There was a second of silence, except for the TV.

"Be right down!" Kendall called back cheerfully. Daryl sighed and almost laughed as well, of course it had been too much to hope for that she would come right down and he could get this stress off of his chest. His fears of rejection were beginning to knot up in his chest, creating a physical hold on him as well. Daryl walked through the kitchen and into the living room, where he dropped himself down onto the couch in an attempt to calm his nerves.

"Hey, where were you? I thought you had today off," Kendall said as she came down the stairs that were on the opposite side of living room. Kendall looked pretty; it's almost like she knew Daryl was nervous and was trying to make it worse. Her make up was done and she was wearing a dark blue dress that hugged her body and showed off her bare legs.

"I did," Daryl said, trying to crack a smile. Though he was sure it ended up looking more like a grimace. Daryl had never been good at forced smiles, or anything ingenuine like that. Hell, Daryl had a hard enough time expressing himself as it was without having to fake an emotion.

"That doesn't answer my question," Kendall said in a laugh as she tossed her long hair over her shoulder. A couple months before, Kendall had cut her hair from breast length to skimming her shoulders. She'd claimed she had to, since styling her hair had fried it. God, had she hated having short hair though. Remembering her complaining, to the point of comedy, in Daryl's opinion, and seeing it beginning to get long, and more beautiful than it was before, made him smile. He couldn't explain it, but something in as simple as her tucking her hair back had calmed him. Maybe it was remembering her humor and a past between the two of them that wasn't rocky that helped fade his fears.

"Well, calm down Ken, I'm about to tell yah," Daryl replied in a half smile and an eye roll. Daryl rose to his feet and was about to take a couple steps towards her when the screen door squeaked open and loudly slammed shut.

"Ninety nine bottles 'o beer on tha wall, ninety nine bottle 'o beer! Take one down an' pass it around. . . " Merle shrieked. Merle was still out of sight from the living room, but Daryl didn't have to see him to know his brother was belligerently drunk. Then, a scratchy females giggle followed Merle's singing and Daryl felt his heart sink. Merle wouldn't just pass through and let Daryl surprise Kendall. Not if he had a woman on his arm. No, Merle would have to be as obnoxious and rude as possible in order to 'impress' the woman he brought home. It was the natural order of Merle's drunken hookup routine. Pick them up at a bar, bring them home, be an asshole to Kendall and/or Daryl for anywhere from a half hour to hour and a half, then bring them down to the basement to do the deed. Behind Merle's back, Daryl and Kendall would call this the Hillbilly mating ritual.

"Baby brutha! What're you doin' home?" Merle said in a voice so loud it was more of a yell. The cheap rum and chewing tobacco on his breath was thick and nauseating.

"I have today off, Merle," Daryl replied. Normally, Daryl would take advantage of his brothers inebriated state and mess with him as much as possible, but now he just wanted Merle to go down and fuck the bimbo he brought home so he could talk to Kendall, who hadn't seen the little white bag he'd brought home yet. She was still completely clueless to his surprise which was one advantage.

"Whatever, I guess yer jus' tryin' to ruin my plans," Merle said in a fake sad voice. Daryl saw Kendall roll her eyes and he repressed a smirk.

"What are you talking about?" Daryl asked and instantly regretted doing so.

"Because, I wanted to fuck Karla here all over tha house. Even yer bed sounded pretty inviting," Merle said and started laughing. The drunk woman behind him hiccupped and began to giggle as well. She was older, even older than Merle, probably pushing 50. Her face was slathered in make up; there were dark orange lines around the corners of her face where her foundation ended and her eyes were surrounded in a very thick and uneven eyeliner which was then surrounded in a pastel pink eye shadow. Another gem brought home by Merle. "I mean, we could still do that, if you wanna watch baby brutha," Merle winked and slapped Karla's ass who continued to giggle maniacally.

"All set," Daryl replied in a low voice. "Why don't you two just go downstairs," He added. Karla began to take a step across the living room towards the basement door, showing she probably had been here before, when Merle grabbed her arm to bring her to a halt.

"I mean, Kendall could join if she wanted. How would you feel about that, Karla?" Merle said in a slow, stupid laugh. Kendall uncrossed her arms, her arched eyebrows raised in surprise. She opened her mouth and was going to say something when Karla beat her to it.

"She's hot. She's got a real nice rack and ass too," Karla began in a nasally voice that was heavy with a southern accent. "What the hell? Come down to the basement with us," She said in a giggle and winked a pastel pink eyelid. Daryl wanted to yell at Merle for suggesting it. Nothing boiled his blood more than another man, especially his own brother, coming onto something that was his. At the same time though, Karla's comment made him want to burst out laughing. It wasn't the first time Kendall had been put into this kind of situation. Many a drunk girl had grabbed Kendall's face while telling her how beautiful she is and tried to kiss her. Some had tried to take her further. Kendall had never reciprocated; like Daryl, she was a fierce committer. Once she had told Daryl she'd be his girl, she was all his. Daryl liked to joke about how he'd like if Kendall did kiss one of those sloppy drunk girls, but he liked being the only one to touch her and didn't want that to change.

"Oh, uh. Merle was just joking," Kendall stammered as she recrossed her arms over her body uncomfortably in an attempt to cover herself. Karla's face dropped and it became clear she had genuinely been hoping Kendall would join her and Merle in the bedroom.

"Oh, princess, you know I wasn't." Merle said. His speech was getting lower and more slurred. He was slowly swaying his way over towards the couch and Daryl knew if he made it to the couch he'd pass out there. Why he'd get so drunk before 6pm on a Saturday was beyond Daryl.

"Merle. This is my house. Either go downstairs with Karla, or leave. I'm not in the mood for this today," Kendall said, her voice strong and not showing any of the discomfort she'd been displaying seconds ago. Merle had a big dumb grin across his face. He was about to say something, when Kendall cut him off, knowing what he would say. "You're a freeloader. You don't pay rent here, your name isn't on the lease or any of the accounts. Don't piss me off," Merle's grin fell and he grumbled something illegible before staggering towards the basement with Karla at his heels.

"Why am I always the one who has to do that?" Kendall asked in a slight laugh. It was true, she was always the one who shut down Merle when his bullshit got too much to handle. Kendall didn't expect an answer from Daryl, though. She knew his answer and was ashamed she'd asked. Daryl's entire laugh Merle had degraded him and left him to feel worthless. Daryl would never say it and would get completely enraged if Kendall said it, but she knew part of him still feared Merle.

"Dunno, Ken," Daryl shrugged. Kendall walked past him and sat down on the couch, less than an inch from her left leg was the little white bag, shoved in between the cushion and the arm of the sofa. Kendall noticed the little bit of white plastic sticking up within a couple seconds of her sitting down.

"What's this?" She asked absentmindedly, clearly thinking it was something she may have left from earlier. Not knowing it's significance or the stress it was causing Daryl at all.

"Ken, wait," Daryl said and then walked over to the couch and picked it up himself. He opened up the little plastic bag and pulled out the small black velvet box. Daryl took a deep breath as his blood pumped through his veins hot and heavy, making his hands shake. Daryl got down on one knee in front of Kendall and opened the velvet box to show a white gold ring with a diamond about the size of a dime in it's center. "Marry me?" He asked as he tried to swallow again, but his spit had seemed to evaporate leaving his mouth hot and dry. Kendall's face dropped.


End file.
